Love Bites
by FairSOLDIERLover
Summary: Zack and Tifa grew up together and fall madly in love with each other, Complications get in the way. What will they do for love? Zack/Tifa Cloud/Aerith Yuffie/Vincent
1. Life, Long, Love

Pairing: Zack x Tifa

Rating: M

WARNING: THIS STORY IS RATED MATURE FOR A REASON AND MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted © by the almighty Square Enix. This story and the OCs are all me, however. Enjoy.

* * *

**~Life, Long, Love~**

Tifa had grown up with Zack, but she never thought that she would fall in love with her childhood friend. That was until Zack was old enough and wanted to run off and join SOLDIER. Tifa had heard about SOLDIER and all of the cruel things that they did to those who joined, Zack apparently only got the side that was full of lies that promised him that everyone became a hero.

It was the middle of summer and Zack was spending the summer at Cloud's house, Tifa loved it when Zack would visit and thought that summer took too long to get there. Even knowing that soon after his birthday Zack would be leaving forever.

* * *

Cloud walks down into the kitchen to find that his mother is cooking breakfast; his mouth begins to water at the smell of fresh made waffles and pancakes.

"Go and wake up Zack would you, don't want him to miss it." His mother asked without turning around.

"Yes ma'am." Cloud ran back up the stairs and jumped on Zack causing both boys to fall off Zack's side of the bed and land on the floor. Zack pushed himself off the now squashed Cloud and groaned at how much his stomach hurt.

"Fuck Cloud, did you have to jump on me and kill me to wake me up, you could have just said 'so stupid breakfast' but NO" Zack spat at Cloud as he sat and leaned against the bed.

"Sorry, you moved on me I thought that I was going to throw you on the floor not land on you then throw us on the floor" Cloud coughed as he sat up and looked at his friend who was coughing and rubbing his stomach.

Cloud was only 14, and this weekend would be the weekend that Zack would turn 16. Cloud's parents were planning a huge sweet 16 and farewell to SOLDIER party for Zack, inviting both towns of Gongaga and Nibelheim. Cloud didn't want to believe that his best friend would be leaving him, but in 2 years he would be joining Zack. Hopefully.

Zack got up and stumbled downstairs hoping he could get something to cure the pain that he had, Cloud followed and hurried to the kitchen to get some Tylenol for Zack and himself. They sat at the table with huge mounds of pancakes and waffles in the middle of table and all the toppings they could want.

Cloud's mother cooked like she was feeding a army even though it was just the boys and herself since Cloud's father had gone off to work before the sun even came up and it was not 7:00am. Mrs. Strife knew better than to cook a little amount cause the boys ate like it was their last day to live, she sat down with a pancake and a waffle and sifted powdered sugar over then and ate quietly.

After taking the much-needed Tylenol, Zack and Cloud grabbed 5 of each and loaded them up with butter, a assortment of berries, and a gallon of syrup. They ate till it was all gone and even licked the plates clean.

* * *

Tifa looked at the clock and seen that it was a little after 8:00am, she knew that the boys would be up but she hadn't been able to sleep since Cloud texted her saying that Zack had just flown in and would be staying till his birthday. She knew that the lack of sleep wasn't good for her but she didn't want to miss seeing Zack.

She picked up her phone and texted cloud to see if the two night owls would be awake

_Cloud you up?_ She closed her phone and sat on her bed looking threw the things that Zack and her had collected along the river when she stayed with him in Gongaga. Her phone let off a loud chirp.

_Yeah we have been up for a while actually, are you going to come over? Or do we have to go and drag you out of your bed again because you refused to go to sleep when I told you too?_

Tifa laughed at Cloud's reply and quickly typed a reply back before getting dressed. _NO, you don't need to do that. It was embarrassing enough last time. Where do you want me to meet you guys?_

Her phone chirped again, faster then the last reply.

_How about you and I go swimming in the pond again you really seemed to like that last time ;)_

Tifa's face went a little disturbed, Cloud was like her brother and how did he know what her and Zack did last summer? _Cloud are you feeling okay? _ She waited for the chirp again, which to her surprise came quick.

_This isn't Cloud silly, Cloud is in the shower. I thought you would have figured that out from the last text. Do you not want to see me or something? Look I know that me going off to SOLDIER is not something that you are very fond of but Tifa, I do not want to leave on a bad note with you. …(heart)…_

Tifa dropped her phone with wide eyes, had Zack just told her that he loved her? She was so confused on how to reply to that text, and soon another one came.

_Tifa, I'm sorry about how I put that… Can we talk some where private and not on Cloud's phone?... If you don't want to then I understand, I guess I will see you when the Chocobo gets out of the shower and I can jump in._

Tifa read the text over and over again, thinking about how she could answer that. _Zack, meet me in our special spot in 10 minutes… We can talk then… (heart)…_

Tifa didn't get a reply back but figured that she had to get a move on and get dressed. Once dressed Tifa flew down the stairs and out the door, she would have told her dad where she was going but he was at work and she wasn't going to call him and tell him that she was meeting up with Zack. For some reason he didn't like Zack and she didn't understand why, she figured that it was because he was going to be in SOLDIER.

* * *

Zack deleted Tifa's messages from Cloud's phone, he wrote a note and laid it on Clouds bed before he left to go and meet up with Tifa. He hated going behind his friends back but he was in love with Tifa and had to let her know before it was too late, he also knew that Cloud had a thing for Tifa and that hurt him cause he didn't want o be the one that was stealing his best friends girl.

Zack was currently involved with a girl in his hometown but he found her rather annoying at times and was glad when he was able to take a trip to Nibelheim. His parents loved his girlfriend, but they didn't know that they had put on a act in front of them just so that they would like her so she could date their son. For some reason and Zack never knew why, but they were picky about who he dated.

Her name was Yuffie Kisaragi, she was the princess of Wutai and his parent apparently arranged a marriage between them before they were even born. Zack had never personally been to Wutai but he thought that it was stupid that he had to marry a girl he only met last summer, and with a marriage being forced upon him he thought that his "bachelor" party if it can even be called that would be held with his best friends. And the girl he really loved.

Zack climbed up a few rocks to get to the secret place, but he didn't mind. It had rained the night that he flew in and the rocks were still damp which made them a little hard to hold onto but he made it. He was soon drug into the cave like area as black hair fell over his shoulders.

"ACK! Tifa you didn't have to drag me I came willingly didn't I?" he laughed and stole a quick peck from Tifa as he sat up and turned to look at her.

"I've missed you Zack, you should stop taking such long breaks from us. Unless you don't like being here then I completely understand." She turned and wondered deeper into the cave. Zack shook his head with a sigh.

"Tifa don't act like this, your being silly. You know I love coming here, if I didn't then I wouldn't have bothered coming for the past 10 years now would I" He put his hands on his hip and gave a cocky look, Tifa looked over her shoulder and laughed and turned and hugged Zack.

"To bad you can't stay long this time, the summer won't be the same without you." She mumbled against his neck, breathing in her favorite smell. Zack.

"Teefers… I gotta tell ya somethin' and I know that ya ain't gonna like it. So please don't freak out on me, I haven't even told Cloud yet." Tifa pushed away and could tell that Zack was serious and she tilted her head.

"What's wrong Zack?" She brushed his bangs out of his face and looked into his hazel eyes, she hated it when he looked like a puppy who just got beaten for doing something.

"Tifa, for the past 3 years I realized something. I realized that I have feelings for you that are more than I can explain… The only problem is that apparently my-" Tifa interrupted him with a hot passionate kiss that he didn't want to pull away from.

"OH Zack! I have felt the same way for a while but I didn't know how to tell you or even if I could. I know that I am younger than you by a couple years but I don't think that that makes a big difference does it?" Tifa was smiling from ear to ear, Zack was thrilled to know how she felt about him now but he knew that now he had to break her heart and he didn't want to.

"Tifa, I didn't get to finish… I'm supposed to get married a couple of days after my birthday then I go off to Midgar to SOLDIER…" He could see the tears starting in Tifa's dark brown eyes "I didn't want to hurt you really I didn't, I just found out last week that I am suppose to marry this princess girl… Tifa if I could I would marry you in a heartbeat but only if you were ready. I'm so sorry Tifa, there's nothing that I can do to change what is happening even if I begged my parents to call it off" He realized that his own tears were forming and clouding his vision but he was more worried about the girl who was sitting in front of him pushing his arms away.

* * *

Cloud stepped out of the shower and walked into his room with the towel wrapped around his waist, he looked at the note on the bed.

_Cloud,_

_Went to meet up with Tifa for something important._

_Meet you ate the pizza parlor on her side of town around noon. Sorry that I didn't tell you in person, but you wouldn't get out of the shower._

_~Zack._

Cloud nodded and looked at the time, 9:20am, now how was he going to waist 3 hours before he was to meet up with Zack and hopefully Tifa. Cloud went to get dressed when he seen Zack's bag was opened and the clothes were a mess sticking out of them. Cloud thought that he would be nice and fix his bag, also to cure his OCD, as he was fixing the bag he seen a black tux wrapped in plastic on the bottom.

"Now what would Zack be doing with a tux in the middle of the summer? Did he have to wear something fancy to get into SOLDIER? That would be silly if he did." Cloud tilted his head and got dressed and decided to ask his mother if she knew why Zack had a tux. Soon Cloud walked downstairs and into the living room where his mother was.

"Hey ma, do you know why Zack has a tux with him? Kinda strange don't you think?"

His mother looked up at him then set her book off to the side and sat up straight. She sighed as she turned and looked at her son.

"Apparently Zack didn't tell you, Cloud, Zack is getting married to that Kisaragi girl. It's a arranged marriage, you knew that his family was rich, so it would only make since that he married into money." She looked at him with sad eyes and hoped that he understood Zack's situation.

The pieces in Clouds head finally went together, no wonder why Zack had to go see Tifa so early. Cloud knew that Zack and Tifa had a thing for each other, he was even sent out a couple times to go and buy condoms for their little late night fun. Cloud was invited to join a couple times but decided that it would be best if he sat those out.

"When is the wedding?" Cloud was a little heart broke that he had to hear this from his mother and not his best friend but he figured that he would hear the story again at lunch.

"Its suppose to be a couple days after his birthday before SOLDIER comes and takes him, but from the call from Mrs. Fair this morning, the wedding has been moved to the day of his birthday… So we are preparing a birthday/wedding/going away party… Poor kid has so much put on his plate all at once." She shook her head in disbelief that all of this was happening to such a smart boy like Zack.

"What about getting married because you love that person? Doesn't that matter any more?" Cloud was a little upset cause he knew that Zack loved Tifa, Zack told him so.

"Not when it comes down to a arranged marriage, they will love each other once they get to know each other more. Plus with SOLDIER keeping Zack busy he won't have time to think of girls in his life anyway." She picked up her book and went back to reading.

Cloud couldn't believe that his mother was just going to turn back to the situation and pretend like it was no big deal, Zack was barely 16 and he was going to be married off to a girl that only 12! This was ridicules!

* * *

**Okay I thought that I would Edit this cause I realized that this doesn't like the sideways v to make the heart. So I have replaced it with (heart) just so that you get what I am talking about. Sorry if it confuses anyone!**


	2. Love, Marriage, SOLDIER Pt 1

Pairing: Zack x Tifa

Rating: M

WARNING: THIS STORY IS RATED MATURE FOR A REASON AND MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted © by the almighty Square Enix. This story and the OCs are all me, however. Enjoy.

* * *

**~Love, Marriage, SOLDIER Pt. 1~**

* * *

Zack figured that everything he said to Tifa had meant absolutely nothing and that he lost the only girl he would ever truly love. He made his way to the pizza parlor that he told Cloud to meet him at, it was 11:58am, and at least he wasn't far away from it so the 2 minutes that he had to spare didn't mean much. His mind was stuck on the look Tifa had when she screamed at him to leave.

He knew that she did not mean what she had said but that did not mean that it did not hurt any less. Zack was glad that Cloud had already gotten them a table and a pizza already ordered.

"You okay Zack, you look like you got the shit beat out of ya, and from the look of the hand print on your face you told Tifa about the wedding." Cloud said as he stared at the mark on his friends face.

"How did you know?" Zack was a little more than shocked to know that Cloud knew about the wedding.

"Mom told me, you should leave your suitcase a mess if you don't want me to look threw it to fix it. You know my OCD." Cloud took a sip of his drink.

"Sorry, I take it you're pissed at me too? I was going to tell you guys, really I was… I just found out last week that I was getting married… but I get it if you don't want me around." Zack dropped his head onto the table with a look of pure sadness. Cloud could not leave his friend to go threw this alone; obviously Zack was not taking the new of a wedding very well.

" I am a little upset that you didn't tell me about it, but I am not going to leave my best bud, almost my brother, go threw such a traumatic thing on his own." Cloud gave Zack a reassuring smile, the order was called and Cloud kicked Zack. "Go get it I am starving over here!"

Zack just shook his head and went to get the pizza and come back and sat down, both boys covered the pizza in parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes before they dove into the masterpiece they had created on the table.

* * *

Tifa sat in the cave, feeling completely stupid for shoving Zack out of the cave because right now she could use one of his hugs. She knew that he didn't love the girl that he is marrying and that there was nothing he could do to stop it, but there was something that told her that she was going to loose him either way. Once he left for SOLDIER, who knows when he would be back or be able to call her, besides he would probably find a girl who was better than she was and he would be able to see her everyday and spend all the time in the world with her.

Tifa sobs harder, wishing that Zack would come back. She stays in the cave for a long time, not wanting to leave and find out that the girl Zack is marrying is here and is going to steal Zack away form her completely. The sound of thunder proved to her that she was going to stay in the cave for quite some time, at least until the storm passed then she would go home and sulk in her room.

* * *

Zack and Cloud walk out of the parlor and look up at the sky as more rain clouds cover the sky; thunder breaks the silence that was around them.

"I'm going to text Tifa and see if we can come over, is that okay?" Cloud looked at Zack, Zack nodded as a reply. He wanted to see Tifa again, he hated it when she was mad at him and wanted to make things right.

Time flew by and no reply from Tifa, Zack was getting worried and he was running out of money. Cloud had drug him into store after store, apparently Cloud had been spending too much time with Tifa and was getting the shopping fever.

"Hey Cloud, do you think we can stop shopping and go find Tifa, its been hours." Zack gave his friend a concerned look.

"Shit how long have we been shopping?!" Cloud quickly pulled out his phone once he put down the shopping bags he had in his hands.

"It's 3:47pm, Cloud we got out of lunch at a quarter to 1. I am going to go find Tifa with or without you." Zack turned and went into the direction of the secret hideout.

"Hey! No need to be all dramatic about this!" Cloud quickly picked up his bags and chased after Zack.

* * *

Tifa shivered herself awake, the ground was hard and rain was spattering on the rock floor just a few feet in front of her. It had started raining after Tifa cried herself to sleep; she looked at her phone and found that it would not turn on.

"Damn it! Dead battery!" She sighed for being so stupid as to falling asleep where Zack and her had spent so many nights together. She looked out the entrance of the cave and seen that it was a long steady down pour, she leans against the wall and watches the rain hoping that maybe Zack would come looking for her since he was the only one who knew where her silly butt would be.

* * *

"Cloud stay here, I'll be back," Zack said as he started climbing up the steep wall of rock. It had been raining on them for a while; both boys were drenched and rather tired of being out in the rain.

Cloud stayed under a tree that was close by and watched his crazy friend climb up a rock, he figured Zack knew where Tifa was but he did not know that would lead to Zack climbing up a steep rock face.

* * *

Zack pulled himself up on to the ledge and found Tifa with her knees pulled up to her chest and crying into her knees.

Zack drops his head and walks over to Tifa and pulls her into his lap, he gently rocks her as she cries. He hated to see her cry, but he knew that it was best to let out your tears instead of holding them in.

Tifa looked up to see a pair of beautiful hazel eyes staring down at her and the same beautiful smile to match. He looked sad to her and she did not want him to be sad just because she did not like what was happening to the man that she loved.

"Zack don't look at me that way, I might just start crying again." The brunet sniffled

"No crying! I hate it when you cry!" though Zack's words were true he did like to dramatize things just a bit. He did not get the award for best drama student for nothing. Tifa laughed and hugged Zack.

"You are such a goof"

"Yep, I am you're goof" Zack smiled at Tifa seeing that his words took her by surprise. "Common, lets run away and forget about this whole marriage thing! Just you and me babe"

"Zack! We cannot do that, I still have to finish school and you are just starting SOLDIER. Running away is a silly suggestion." Tifa shook her head; she could not believe that Zack would say such silly things.

"I'm serious Tifa! You, me and Cloud can all run away to Midgar and forget the silliness my parents are forcing on me."

Tifa could not believe what she was hearing, yes, she had dreamed that Zack would ask her to marry him and that they would run away, but this was too soon. She looked at Zack's face and could tell that the boy was dead serious.

"Let's ask Cloud his opinion" Tifa did not know what else to say, Zack had blindsided her with this.

Zack sighed and nodded and went back to the cave entrance, the rain had made the edge slippery and dangerous. He didn't know why this had to be the location of the secret place, although right now the secret wasn't a secret anymore since Zack drug Cloud along to see the place. Zack started his decent and Tifa shortly followed, they both made it to the ground after a few slips and rocks flying into eyes. Zack and Cloud headed back to Cloud's house to get the rock matter out of the raven's eyes and Tifa went back to sitting in her bedroom and watched TV.

* * *

The week had flown by; Zack rolled over and looked at the clock. Today was his birthday; most kids would have been thrilled that they were finally turning 16. Sadly, for Zack, he was turning 16 and he was getting married. Zack sat up in bed and stretched, he thought that he would get in a quick shower before either he was forced to wait for Cloud's lazy butt to get out or he had to wait for the hot water to come back because Cloud took forever in the shower.

After his shower and he got dressed, he headed down into the kitchen for breakfast. His mother got up and hugged him, his father just smiled and nodded. Cloud was already eating and the smell of a chocolate cake was coming from the oven, Zack knew that today would be a day that he would never forget.

Zack sat down by Cloud and his mother and started eating the breakfast that was on the table. Cloud and Zack had a normal teenage conversation about what they thought SOLDIER would be like and if they would ever be able to see each other again.

"Good morning everyone!" The bubbly voice came from the only person Zack knew, Yuffie. Zack tried not to choke on the food he had in his mouth, Cloud smacked Zack on the back a few times. Yuffie hugged Zack around the neck from behind and planted a kiss on his cheek, Cloud made gagging sounds but stopped when his mother hit him with a semi-warm frying pan.

"Yuffie! I… um… wasn't expecting to see you so soon" Zack gave his mother a look that she just shrugged off.

"Oh, Zacky didn't your mother tell you. We are getting married today! Isn't this just wonderful! We can be together forever!" Yuffie squeezed harder.

"Yeah… just… wonderful" Zack mumbled, he wished that Tifa would have accepted his request of running away so he didn't have to go threw with this. Tifa had been ignoring him the whole week since he told her that he was getting married. He hoped that he could see her before the wedding and see if she would even talk to him.

The day flew by and still no sign of Tifa, Cloud even let Zack use his phone to text her but she never answered. Mr. Fair helped Zack and Cloud into watching tuxedos, his face wasn't all happy but he wanted his son to be happy.

"Dad I can't go threw with this, I don't love her." Zack looked up at his father as he helped his father adjust his tie.

"I know son, I am sorry that we had to put you into this situation. But you were our first born and she was their first girl."

"Gaia this sucks!" Zack sat on Cloud's bed with deep protest of getting married. Cloud sat next to him and handed him his phone as Mr. Fair left the room.

"Text her, tell her how you really feel and maybe you will see he soon. Sorry buddy." Cloud got up and went to see if his mother needed help.

_Tifa, I wish that you would talk to me. At least come and say goodbye… I love you Tifa, I wish it were you that I was marrying today instead of Yuffie… I will forever love you. - Zack xoxo_

Zack sent the message, he tossed the phone on the bed and left to go get married.

* * *

Tifa looked at her phone threw her tears; she hadn't seen Zack since the day in their secret spot. She was mad at herself for not going and seeing the man that she loved but she didn't want to break down into tears in front of him and Cloud again.

She opened the text message and read it; instant tears came to her eyes. "I love you too Zack" she mumbled into her pillow. Her father knocked on the door, came in, and sat by her.

"Cloud is here dear, he said you have a wedding to attend to and it would me so much to Zack if you attended. He even brought you a dress to wear." He rubbed her shoulder and laid the dress at the end of the bed. "I would hurry if I was you, weddings don't tend to wait on those who are late." And with that, he left.

Tifa sat up confused and looked at the white dress at the end of the bed, she opened her bedroom window and see Cloud looking up at her in his tuxedo.

"Cloud what is all of this nonsense?"

"Tifa, Zack's parents don't want him to marry Yuffie either but they already put all the money into the wedding it is a little too late to cancel. Would you hurry up, can't have a bride to be late for her wedding." Cloud smiled and shifted from foot to foot. "We even have someone here to help with make-up and your hair."

"Cloud, I can't marry Zack!" Tifa could not believe what she was hearing.

"Tifa, we both know why you need to marry him. Now I am not going to announce this to the whole neighborhood, but I think Zack deserves to know as well." Cloud chuckled to himself as he seen the blush on Tifa's face.

"AH Hell! Damn you Cloud!" and with that she shut the window and started to get into the wedding dress, the woman to help her look ready was standing in the doorway.

After Tifa got all beautified, she headed downstairs to meet her father in a warm embrace. Tifa had always dreamed of a horse and carriage to her wedding and when cloud opened the door, she saw the prettiest horse and carriage she had ever seen.

Tifa hugged Cloud tightly as they left the house and headed to Cloud's house, where Cloud was sure Zack had been to upset thinking he was still marrying Yuffie.

* * *

Zack paced in the living room waiting for them to say 'let's get this over with.' His father was sitting in the lounge chair, reading the news paper and oblivious that his son was about to wear a hole in the floor of Mrs. Strife's house.

"Zack, calm down, there is nothing to be scared about. Everybody gets married at some point in there life, I don't know why you are making you are making such a big deal out of this." His mother pushed him onto the couch and made him sit there.

"Mom, everyone else is marrying the one that they love; I, on the other hand, have to deal with this ridicules arranged marriage." Zack threw his hands into the air and sighed.

His mother left the room, Mr. Fair turned and looked at Zack with somewhat disappointment but the other was full of understanding.

"Zack, what if I told you that you didn't have to marry Yuffie?" Zack smiled and was almost bubbling over in joy.

"You mean that I don't have to marry her?!" Mr. Fair just sighed and shook his head.

"Son you still have to marry here whether you want to or not. I just wanted to see if you were a little disappointed that we forced you to do something that turned out that you didn't have to do it at all." The older raven-haired man turned back to the TV that was playing and tried to find something new to watch.

Zack got up and walks up to Cloud's room and laid on the bed, he looked at Cloud's phone, which had not moved, there was no new messages from Tifa. Cloud had a few odd ones from strange girls that Zack did not know, and honestly, Zack did not think that he wanted to know the strange girls.

Zack wondered where Cloud was, but thought that if he went around looking for him he would be yelled at and probably a high heel to the head at some point in his quest. So he just stayed where he was at and waited for the dreaded event ahead, he looked out the window and see the SOLDIER trucks heading into Nibelheim to pick him up. Apparently, they had many people to pick up before it was Zack's turn since they were a couple of hours early.


	3. Love, Marriage, SOLDIER Pt 2

Pairing: Zack x Tifa

Rating: M

WARNING: THIS STORY IS RATED MATURE FOR A REASON AND MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted © by the almighty Square Enix. This story and the OCs are all me, however. Enjoy.

* * *

**~Love, Marriage, SOLDIER Pt. 2~**

* * *

Zack stood in a gazebo that is covered in white lace with red roses and white lilies pinned to it. Roughly, about 10 rows of white chairs line the white walkway, there might have been more but Zack didn't feel like recounting to make sure that he was right. Zack looked at the preacher that was standing next to him and gave him an unsure smile; the preacher simply looked back with a happy, yet unpleased, smile to reassure Zack that things would be okay.

Cloud appeared next to Zack with the biggest smile on his face, Zack wondered what would make the boy act so strange. Zack was about to ask Cloud what his deal was but the sudden crowd of people that flooded into the seats interrupted him as the organ started playing music. Zack suddenly felt his stomach cramp up and his mouth had turned to cotton, he could not believe that this was actually going to go threw. Zack looked threw the crowd to see who he all knew, his little sisters were walking down the white carpet that was laying in between the chairs. Zack's eyes stopped when he spotted Yuffie sitting in the back row on the brides side, a tall dark man sat next to her, they looked deeply in love and happy that they were together.

Panic. That was all Zack felt at that moment, 'why is this wedding still happening if the "bride" isn't even going to walk down the isle?'

* * *

Cloud looked up at his friend and seen the look on his face and knew exactly what was going threw his best friends mind, if Cloud didn't tell him something soon the man would faint from forgetting to breath when he actually did see Tifa. Cloud pulled on the hair closest to Zack's ear and pulled him down to his level.

"Zack calm down, there is a big surprise that I am sure you will love but you have to keep your head on your shoulders. SOLDIER won't accept a guy who is panicking so bad he faints at his own wedding" Cloud had a sharp tone to his voice that sounded more grown up then he wanted. Cloud stood Zack back up straight and fixed his jacket as he spotted the horse and carriage pulling up.

* * *

Zack was pulled out of his panic attack when Cloud pulled on his hair; he let out a squeak as Cloud started whispering in his ear. This gave Zack's head something new to ponder over, he was in such deep thought he didn't notice Cloud fixing his jacket and the carriage that had pulled up.

The organist had been playing 'here comes the bride' for a while now and finally here was the bride, a man in a tux walked behind the carriage and opened the door and helped the bride out. Zack couldn't tell who the man was, or who the bride was for that matter, he was just too far away.

The bride and, Zack assumed, her father got closer as they walked down the isle and soon stood by Zack who now looked at the preacher.

"Who gives this woman away to this man?" The preacher asked.

"I do" Tifa's father lifted her veil, kissed her cheek before he went, and sat down by Cloud's parents. Zack smiled as he stood wide eyed his finger's intertwined with Tifa's as they stood close. The preacher started the wedding speech and Tifa chose the time to whisper something.

"Zack?"

"Yes beautiful?" Zack whispered back.

"Zack, I'm pregnant" Tifa smiles at him, his smile beamed back.

All Zack seen was the preacher leaving his sight and then the top of the gazebo before everything went black.

* * *

Everything went great till Tifa started whispering to Zack, Cloud shook his head thinking they were just passing compliments and 'I love you.' That was until Zack suddenly changed all facial expression as he turned a ghostly white and, what Cloud was afraid of. Zack fainted.

Cloud hung his head and covered his face as Tifa and most of the crowd gasped. Cloud walked over to the passed out Zack and now panicking Tifa.

"Tifa what did you tell him?" Cloud was helping Tifa fan Zack to wake him up.

"What he needed to know" Tifa was more than panicking now.

"And you chose NOW? Tifa there were better times to do that! Like oh I don't know when he isn't being watched by his future bosses!" Cloud did realize he snapped at her until he looked up into her huge wide brown eyes.

Zack's dad came up and dumped a glass of water on his passed out son making Zack shoot up gasping. Zack was still big eyed from what he found out and all he could do was look at Tifa, speechless.

"Zack, baby are you okay?" Tifa gently wiped the water of his face with her gloved hand.

'I do' was the only words that came out of Zack's mouth, apparently the preacher had just went on with the whole ceremony without the bride and groom. Tifa looked up at the preacher who was oblivious to the event that happened; she too said 'I do'.

"I now announce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride. Or faint, your choice" the preacher finished and left to go back to the church to pray for these two children. The crowd cheered but weren't all that enthusiastic since the couple wasn't standing nor were they really listening to the preacher.

"Is it mine?" Zack's face carried worry and hurt, he didn't want to be married to a girl who had been sleeping with another and Zack would have to be the one to help raise a kid that wasn't his. Tifa sat back a little shocked at his question and his facial expression; she had never seen him look like this before.

"Of course it is numb nuts! I thought you knew me better then that?" Tifa knew she was probably over reacting to Zack's little out burst but she didn't want to think that Zack ignored the fact that he was her first and her only lover on the planet.

"I thought that I knew you to not keep secrets from me when it involved me in anyway." Zack sighed and looked at his hands, Tifa placed her ungloved hand on his.

"I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you." The brunet kissed the raven's cheek and gave him a soft smile.

"I love you, but please don't do that again" Zack pulled Tifa onto his lap and kissed her. Everyone clapped and snapped pictures, Cloud pulled Zack and Tifa to their feet and got a group shot of pictures.

It seemed like hours went by as the pictures finally ended, Zack knew that they would begin again once they got to the party part of this wedding.

* * *

Zack and Tifa sat at a table, both smiling and very happy that they married each other. One of the SOLDIER's came up to the table.

"Excuse me, may I please borrow Mr. Fair for a moment" The tall raven haired SOLDIER gave Tifa a gentle smile, she loved the way his eyes looked and hoped that Zack's would look that way too once he joined.

"Of course" Tifa smiled as Zack stood up and kissed her cheek before following the SOLDIER out the door to talk in private.

"Is there something wrong sir?" Zack figured it would be best to start on a good foot rather than a bad one.

"Please call me Angeal." The older man smiled at the young man who beamed with energy and happiness. Zack just smiled and nodded, making a mental note to call this man by that. "Back to why I brought you out here, most new infantrymen start by living in the barracks. In your case, you're new wife, and soon child, aren't going to be able to live in the barracks so we are going to pull a few strings and see if we can get you either a 3rd or 2nd class apartment with an extra bedroom."

Zack couldn't believe what he was hearing, he was hoping that he wasn't going to have to beg and plead to be able to come out and see his child born. At the same time, since he found out he hadn't actually thought about the baby since he found out it was his.

"Now don't get to excited, you might have to find an apartment for them and help make rent on it, I can't promise that you are going to get the deal that I am offering. I will try to pull some strings for you but it isn't a high chance." Angeal knew that he wanted to help this lad out but he did not want to make a promise that he was not going to be able to fulfill.

"I understand Angeal. Please do what you can." Zack smiled at the tall SOLDIER. "I should probably go back in before they claim I went missing" Zack chuckled as he gestured over his shoulder towards the door.

"You're right, go back to your wife. I will see what I can do at Headquarters." Angeal turned and pulled out his phone and slowly walked down the street. Zack turned on his heels, went back inside, and sat by Tifa for a split second before it was their song and they got up and danced. Zack potted several other SOLDIER's in the room but ignored them and focused all his attention on his beautiful wife.

* * *

"Is everything okay?" Tifa turned to Zack who had been staring off into space since he had returned from talking to Angeal.

"hmm? Yeah everything is great." Zack shook his head and smiled at the brunet next to him. Tifa just smiled back and laid her head on Zack's shoulder and watched the entire people dance and have fun. Yuffie was showing Vincent how to dance on the dance floor; he did not seem too thrilled about it but was happy that he was having fun with Yuffie. Cloud had gotten up and left the table next to Tifa and Zack, when Zack had left to talk to Angeal, and was now mingling with a girl with long brunet hair that was pulled back into a long spiral braid.

"Who is that dancing with Cloud?" Zack asked to no one in particular but wasn't all too interested in getting up and finding out.

"I don't know, she is probably someone that you're parents invited and isn't from around here." Tifa stated since the girl in question wasn't wearing anything like the other girls and was too stand-outish for Tifa's liking.

Zack smiled and kissed the top of Tifa's head with a small chuckle. He knew that she didn't like this mystery girl much, and thought it would be best to get introductions out of the way before Tifa gave the poor girl a lecture, about how she should treat Cloud and how Tifa would kill her if she hurt him in any way, shape, or form. Zack knew his wife a little too well, since he had gotten the same lecture when they had started feeling things towards each other several years ago.

"Well then let's go and say 'Hi.' She is a guest at our wedding anyway." Zack stood up; Tifa gave him a rather unpleased look but stood up and followed Zack over to this mystery girl.

"Hey Cloud, who is this lovely girl?" Zack smiled when they walked up to Cloud and his dancing partner.

"Oh Hi! This is Aerith." Cloud was slightly surprised at his friend sneaking up on him. Aerith lightly waved and smiled at the married couple, she was definitely shy and didn't want to come across wrong.

"Nice too meet you" Tifa stuck out her hand for a hand shake and smiled, Zack and Cloud both looked at her and tried to see what was going on in her head. They had known Tifa to long to not know that she was not one to share her friends to girls who only wanted a one night stand.

"Nice to meet you too" Aerith shook Tifa's outstretched hand and smiled softly, she slightly let her eyes look over Zack. Tifa had married a very handsome man, and Aerith was slightly jealous but to her Cloud was a lot hotter and sexier than Zack was.

Zack caught Aerith and was a little unsure what the girl was doing, maybe she was a fashion designer and was looking at what style Gongaga had. On the other hand, maybe she was looking at something for Cloud even though he looked great in the tuxedo he was wearing, but Zack figured that she was actually checking him out and it made him a little uneasy.

* * *

Hours went by and the wedding party ended, everyone said their goodbyes and wishing the new couple luck on their marriage. Zack's bags had been packed for a while and were now waiting in the SOLDIER helicopter for the trip to Midgar. Zack and Tifa had stopped at her house to pack up her things, thankfully, Angeal was able to pull a few strings and they would be able to be housed in the second-class apartments. Tifa and Zack were to be enrolled in ShinRa Military Academy, the Academy is normally for just trainees for SOLDIER but Tifa was able to bend the rules a little.

The flight to Midgar was long and rather unpleasant; the chopper did not have enough seats in it so Zack and Tifa found themselves sitting on the cold steel floor. The First Class SOLDIER's got the only other seats besides the pilots, Genesis and Angeal were talking to each other in whispers which seemed to drive the General Sephiroth crazy. Zack didn't know what they were saying but figured that once he got the mako treatments that he would know what they were talking about. Tifa had fallen asleep on Zack's shoulder when they went over Modeoheim.

It was about three in the morning when they finally arrived in Midgar on the roof of ShinRa Electric Power Company, Sephiroth and Genesis exited first and left without saying goodbye. Angeal stepped out of the chopper once the propellers had stopped moving, Reno and Rude started moving all of Zack and Tifa's stuff on carts. Tifa wanted to help them but Zack pulled her away and figured it would be best to stay out of the way.

"That's everything," the red head stated as he whipped non-existent sweat off his brow.

"Good, let's get them settled in before their new life starts. Apartment 7B" Angeal tossed the red head the keys, and then left as quickly as his fellow comrades had before.

"Well, what y'all looking at? Lets get a move on, I need my beauty sleep." Reno turned and started walking away, Rude grabbed one of the carts, Zack grabbed the other, and they followed Reno.

Tifa did not like the way that everything smelled, it did not smell clean and all the trees that were standing around were all fake. No clean air like in Nibelheim, or Gongaga for that matter, Zack made a funny face at the smell that was around, but they both figured that they would get use to the smell eventually. They eventually got to the apartment and put all the boxes and bag in the door and the Turks left with the luggage carts.

"Welcome home dear" Zack smiled and picked Tifa up before he walked threw the front door. Tifa laughed and kissed Zack just happy that things were finally going their way.

"It's beautiful!" Tifa looked around at the new place, the walls were a cream white with a bright white trim at the floor, and the carpet was a cream color.

"Looks like a insane asylum to me" Zack laughed as he eyed all the white furniture, cabinets, and doors.

"Well you should ask Angeal if it is okay to change the color in here, although knowing you the carpet isn't going to stay the color it is anyway." The brunet rolled her eyes as she went to look around the place and place boxes where they belonged to unpack.

* * *

It was late in the afternoon and Zack decided to wake up, Tifa was still sleeping half under the covers and half on top. Zack had woken up to this beautiful sight before, except they both were lacking clothing then. The raven decided to take a shower since he smelled like wedding cake, sweat, and hours of sitting in a dirty helicopter.

Tifa had woken up to the sound of the shower running but decided that she would just continue to sleep, that was till the annoying doorbell decided to ring. Therefore, she got up and put a robe on, as the doorbell rang persistently.

"I'm coming, I'm coming hold your horses," Tifa muttered threw a yawn that chose to escape. She answered the door and seen Angeal standing in front of her will several boxes in his arms. "Let me help you" Tifa took a few boxes from him since he had more sitting next to the door.

"Thank you, Mrs. Fair" Angeal places the boxes in a specific order on the floor. "These are your school books, uniforms, and schedule. Those are Zack's uniforms and SOLDIER cell phone." Tifa tilted her head a little confused.

"Why does Zack need a new cell phone?"

"Because it is job issued. It's the same as everyone else's." Angeal said as he opened the cell phone box and showed her the simple flip phone. "Here is his new number" he handed her a folded piece of paper.

"Okay, thanks. Can I ask you something?" Tifa said as she took the folded paper and tried to memorize the number.

"Yes?" Angeal looked at her a little curious but at the same time, not in the mood to deal with people.

"Would it be okay if we got new carpet and repainted the walls? Its just knowing Zack, the carpet won't stay white and neither will the walls," She lightly laughed knowing that it wasn't really a joke and probably not all that funny either.

"No sorry, you are going to have to wait till he is a first class till you can change the rooms." Angeal turned and headed for the door. "Anything else?"

"No thank you" Tifa smiled and watched Angeal turn and leave. She picked up some of the boxes and took them to the bedroom to look at. Zack had gotten out of the shower and was in the middle of getting dressed when Tifa walked threw the door with her hands full of boxes.

"What's all that?" Zack tipped his head as he pulled on a black tank top.

"My school uniforms, your work ones are out by the front door. Angeal brought them all over." Tifa said as she started trying on her uniform. It was a white shirt with a dark green tie, and the skirt was green and white plaid.

"Ah, okay. You look great by the way" Zack winked as he walked out of the room causing Tifa to giggle as she twirled in the long mirror.

The rest of the day, or what was left of it, was dedicated to unpacking and making sure they knew where to go the next morning. Reno had dropped by and gave Tifa a spare key to the apartment and a map of where everything was, like the school and the barracks where Zack would need to report to at 0600 hours. Zack was glad that he had been learning to use military time, because if he had not, knowing what 0600 hours meant would have killed him.

That night they ordered pizza from a place that Reno had suggested, it was not too bad, nothing like Nibelheim but still worked as food. They both went to bed a little nervous about what would happen tomorrow.


	4. SOLDIER Day 1, Night 2

Pairing: Zack x Tifa

Rating: M

WARNING: THIS STORY IS RATED MATURE FOR A REASON AND MAY NOT BE FOR EVERYONE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

All related Final Fantasy names and characters are copyrighted © by the almighty Square Enix. This story and the OCs are all me, however. Enjoy.

* * *

**~SOLDIER Day 1, Night 2~**

* * *

Zack's alarm clock went off at 5:00am, or 0500 hours which ever you prefer to use. Zack got up and jumped in the shower real quick, then got out, fixed his hair, and got dressed in his uniform. ShinRa Academy starts at 0730 hours, Zack would have loved to let Tifa sleep in but he knew that she needed to get up and get ready for school. He walked over to her side of the bed and gently kissed her awake.

"Its time to get up dear, you don't want to be late for school" Zack whispered, he forgot that he put his helmet on before he went to wake Tifa up. Tifa woke up and smacked Zack with a pillow, knocking his helmet clean off his head.

"Shit! Zack! Don't wake me up like that!" she rubbed her eyes before she pulled him into a hug.

"Lesson learned." He hugged her back and gave her a small kiss. "Well I have to get going because I don't want to be late. See ya tonight." He gave her another kiss, slipped on his helmet and ran out the door.

Zack followed the signs down to the Barracks, he almost ran into a couple people because he was trying to look at a sign on the wall to make sure he was still going the right way. He seen a couple other newbie's and decided to stand with them and try to make friends, they were talking amongst themselves and didn't seem to notice the new guy that joined their little group.

"Can you believe that we are going to meet the all mighty Sephiroth?" One newbie ranted

"What do you think he is going to talk to us about?" another one whispered

"I heard that its all just a act, the real master minds of this company are 1st Class SOLDIER's Angeal Hewley and Genesis Rhapsodos." The last snickered but held his head high.

Zack knew the 1st Class SOLDIER's that they were talking about and to him, they seemed like normal mako enhanced guys that earned their title threw hard work and dedication. Maybe that was because they all came to see his wedding and personally escorted him here.

"I don't think they are all that bad" Zack muttered to the group, the guys turned around and looked at Zack.

"What makes you say that?" the first one asked.

"Well, think about it. One of these days we will be just as good as they are and we will be the ones everyone is muttering about, kind of like we are now." Zack said shrugging and shifting his weight from foot to foot. The group seemed to ponder on this and then all nodded in return.

"I like your thinking, what's your name kid?" the last asked.

"Zack Fair, and yours?" Zack asked smiling and sticking out his hand for a friendly handshake.

"You can call me Kunsel, and these are my friends Marv and Penn" Kunsel shook Zack's outstretched hand.

"Nice to meet you guys" Zack smiled

"Like wise" Marv and Penn nod.

The group turned around as Sephiroth entered the room; Zack smiled and appeared the others were not as happy to see the General as Zack was. Sephiroth just raised an eyebrow at Zack before he moved on to inspecting the others. Once inspection was over, they were all forced out to the field for the 7-mile hump.

* * *

Tifa got up and got dress before she headed to school; she took the map with her and followed what it said. Once at the school she pulled out her itinerary and went to her first class, which was Algebra, her least favorite subject. She went threw the morning classes and the halls smiling and being as joyful as possible. She was not very popular like she had been in Nibelheim, but back there her father was head of a big company so of course she was popular.

Lunchtime had finally come around and Tifa had sat alone, she scanned the lunchroom as she ate and seen that Aerith was sitting at a table with Yuffie and a couple of the other girls that Tifa did not know. She was just about to get up when Zack plopped down next to her and give her a muddy kiss on her cheek.

"phh! Zack!" She giggles and wipes off the mud.

"Hey babe" he smiles before he digs into his lunch, obviously starving. "How's your day going?"

"Pretty good I think I like my classes. Why are you filthy?" she began to eat as she looked at her mud covered husband and the even dirtier helmet that was thrown randomly on the table.

"7-mile hump this morning. They told me that I beat the record and that I could come eat lunch in the lunchroom instead of the Barracks." Zack continued to inhale his food. "You know this stuff is better than what they were serving in the Barracks."

Tifa just smiled at Zack as she picked threw her food. In all honesty she hadn't been very hungry since she found out she was pregnant. She was almost 3 months along, she was surprised that her father hadn't found out, not only would he of killed Zack, but he would have brought him back and made him marry Tifa. Well that already happened thanks to Cloud and Yuffie agreeing on a new plan.

"You okay?" Zack interrupted her train of thought.

"Hmm? Yeah I am fine, just not very hungry." Tifa smiled as Zack nodded and took their trays back. He soon sat back down and laid back in his chair.

"Angeal invited us to go out to a nice restaurant tonight. I told him that I would see how you felt about it."

"We should go, how else are we going to get to know the city?" Tifa was happy that they were going to find a place besides the pizza joint that Reno suggested. She also knew that she wasn't going to eat much, unless she got a crazy craving and was suddenly starving. Like that was going to happen.

"Great I'll tell Angeal when I see him after work. Which I should probably be getting back too. Love ya see ya later." He kissed her, grabbed his helmet off the table smearing dirt everywhere, and ran out as he slipped on his helmet. Soon after Zack left the school bell rang, Tifa only had a couple classes left to do before she was able to go home.

Tifa's last classes were with Yuffie and Aerith, she didn't really mind them all that much but they both seemed to like her husband. Yuffie got on a topic that Tifa really liked which made Tifa jump into the conversation. They talked all class period, in the halls, and into their next period. Soon Tifa was going on a shopping trip with the girls once school was over, Tifa wanted to tell Zack but she didn't want to interrupt his training or whatever he was doing.

Tifa came home with homework and several bags of clothing that she bought thanks to Aerith and Yuffie pitching in. Zack hadn't been home yet, of course he wasn't it was only 4:30pm and he didn't get off till a quarter till 5. so Tifa decided that she would get ready for their dinner date with Angeal tonight, she threw her backpack on the bed along with the bags and she jumped into the shower to get her hair freshened.

Tifa got out of the shower, wrapped a towel around her, and wondered into the kitchen just as Zack walked into the door. He was obviously warn out and in need of a hot shower and badly.

"What time is our dinner date with Angeal?" she asked as she got a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water.

"Um, he didn't say. He just said that he would stop by and see if we were ready." Zack kicked his boots off at the door and started stripping as he headed for the bathroom to shower. Tifa followed him in, picked up his dirty clothes, and threw them in the hamper once she got into the bathroom.

"I went shopping with Yuffie and Aerith after school; I found out that we actually have a lot in common." Tifa started to fix her hair.

"Oh? What did you buy?" Zack lifted an eyebrow as he washed all the dirt out of his hair almost clogging the drain.

"Get your mind out of the gutter, I just bought a dress for tonight and some new shoes is all." Tifa started curling her hair, she heard Zack just make a pleased noise. Although Tifa wasn't sure if that was cause of the hot water beating on his sore muscles or an actual answer to what she told him.

Once Tifa had finished her hair and makeup, she went and got into her black strapless dress. Aerith thought that Tifa would look better in a pink one, but Tifa wasn't going to let anything pink touch her. Yuffie thought that a dark green or a lovely blue would be nice, Tifa tried them on and they really did not work so she went with her choice, the black dress with silver stitching. Her shoes were black stilettos with silver flowers on them; she thought that it all went together pretty well, now to pass the Zack test.

Zack walked out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped around his waist and went to the dresser for some boxers. Tifa was surprised that he hadn't seen her yet, although he was still probably tired and more or less focused on eating then going to bed as soon as possible.

"Did you get me anything?" Zack asked as he started putting on his boxers and some socks.

"Yep" She handed him what she bought for him, which was a nice black dress shirt and black dress pants and a red tie. Zack took them and put them on as Tifa headed to the living room to wait for Angeal to come. When Zack walked out he actually looked at Tifa and was astonished at how amazing she looked.

"Wow hun, I am sorry that I didn't see what you were wearing earlier. I am just dead dog-tired. You look amazing" He smiled and kissed her deep and loving.

"Its okay, I figured that you had a hard day and that you just needed some recoup time." Tifa smiled back at Zack and was happy when the doorbell finally rang. She got up and opened the door to see a well dressed Angeal and Genesis standing on the other side.

"I hope you like Chinese food, because that's where Angeal made plans." Genesis stated with a smile and a wink in Tifa's direction, which caused all happiness in Zack's face go to jealous and not pleased.

"Chinese is great." Was all Zack said as he slipped an arm around Tifa's waist, Angeal seen what Genesis was doing and gave him a hearty elbow to the gut.

"Ow, ass" Genesis spat at the older raven-haired man.

* * *

They sat in a circular booth, Zack and Genesis on the outside and Tifa between Angeal and Zack. They had already ordered an assortment of food that they all wanted to try, Zack's eyes never left Genesis unless he was giving a loving look to Tifa. They all ate in somewhat silence except when the waitress came to refill their drinks or get them something else.

"So Tifa, how far along are you?" Angeal asked out of curiosity also taking note that she was just sitting and picking at her food.

"Just 3 months" Tifa was a little baffled by the random question. Zack was sitting there doing mental math as to when the last time him and Tifa actually had a sexual experience. He figured 3-4 months was about right.

"Ah, morning sickness still?" Now Angeal was just making small talk.

"Not really, it comes and goes." Tifa obviously didn't mind any of the questions that Angeal was asking. Since Zack and Genesis apparently decided to have a stare off, Tifa watched and hoped that this wouldn't lead to Zack getting into trouble and getting kicked out of SOLDIER before he even got in it.

"Your parents must be happy about the new member of their family" Angeal had stated while he paid for the rather large check.

"They don't know, well at least my dad doesn't know. I know that Cloud knew before we left Nibelheim." Tifa started boxing up her dinner.

"My mom knows but I don't know about my dad, I would guess that mom told him by now." Zack said blandly as he started boxing up his dinner while having his little staring contest with Genesis.

"Ah, Genesis would you stop it with your staring. It's down right weird." Angeal slapped Genesis with his napkin making Genesis blink and look away from Zack. Zack had a little happy dance in his head because he beat a SOLDIER at a staring contest. Tifa could see the accomplishment on Zack's face and just rolled her eyes.

They all walked out to Angeal's car, Genesis sat in the front seat with Angeal, Zack and Tifa took up the backseats. The ride home was as quiet as their conversation in the restaurant was, but Zack did not mind he was just happy that he was with his wife and that he was finally in Midgar.

Zack and Tifa said their good byes to Genesis and Angeal as they parted ways at the elevator. Zack and Tifa went into their apartment, stripped, flopped onto the bed in just their underwear, and shortly fell asleep after getting into their normal sleeping position and getting under the covers.

* * *

**Well it looks like Genesis is going to be an ass and try to ruin things for Zack and Tifa. I don't think that Zack is going to go down without a fight.**


End file.
